It is a conventional practice to administer oxygen through a cannula having two sub-like portions which are fitted to the nostrils of the nose and the oxygen directly piped through the cannula into the stub sections which in turn discharge oxygen directly into the nose of the patient. The described arrangement is irritating to the nose, causing swelling and at times severe discomfort, particularly if the person receiving the oxygen is in any way allergic to the continuous presence of these stub sections. Accordingly, there is considerable discomfort and even the real possibility of infection because of the intrusion of these stub sections into the nostril.
Other methods of administering oxygen, are through a mask and sometimes through a so-called "tent" which is a curtain-like structure surrounding the head of the patient and in which oxygen is added so that there is a general atmosphere of relatively pure oxygen for breathing by the patients.
All of these described methods have substantial penalties of use. For example, the oxygen tent is a fire and explosion hazard. The oxygen mask is cumbersome and tends to be very annoying to patients, particularly small children. Small children, not realizing the importance of the oxygen therapy, are quite likely to tear away the offending cannula and thus inadvertently causing damage or deprivation of oxygen at the very time that it is needed. Obviously this dislike to oxygen therapy on the part of very young patients, including premature babies, is a substantial detriment to the proper use of oxygen as an accepted regimen of oxygen usage. Consequently, there has been a substantial unfilled need for oxygen administration through a cannula particularly for premature babies because the administration of pure oxygen through a tent is expensive, impractical and hampers the movement of the baby. It has been further learned that providing an atmosphere of pure oxygen under these circumstances can also produce severe eye damage.
Insofar as the oxygen mask is concerned, it is again impractical because the baby is unable to tolerate the presence of the mask, and because childrens' facial constructions and sizes are so different from adults as to make it impossible to provide a single suitable oxygen administration mask. Accordingly, the prior art techniques which were thought to be acceptable, have turned out, in actual use, to present numerous deficiences.